Luminaria on Saturday

This year LUMINARIA and CAM (Contemporary Arts Month) are both together in March for the first time. The Saturday, March 13 schedule of artists and musicians is available by clicking here. At www.luminariasa.org/ the event is described as:

“San Antonio’s annual celebration of art and artists. Held in March and overseen by San Antonio’s creative leaders, it is free of charge and showcases all art forms in an outdoor setting and inside various venues downtown. In addition, special arts events and performances throughout the city occur simultaneously and/or throughout the month in conjunction with Contemporary Art Month.

Luminaria spotlights San Antonio’s cultural assets for local citizens and visitors alike and is made possible through the generosity of artists, arts organizations, volunteers, and public and private donations.

In 2009, 185,000 people attended Luminaria.

Luminaria is free and open to the public, inspiring individuals and families from every walk of life to sample the abundant offerings of the evening in a safe and inviting setting.

A manifestation of the city’s cultural riches, Luminaria boosts tourism by drawing visitors to the city and through increased media attention.

With hundreds of diverse artists working together, Luminaria expands opportunities for teamwork, for creative collaboration and for cross-disciplinary innovation.

Through Luminaria, city leaders have come to grasp the size, scope, and significance of the arts and cultural sector in the city and the meaning it holds for citizens.

The economic value of Luminaria is significant because of its affect on downtown restaurants, hotels, and other businesses, as well as cultural organizations and individual artists.

New audiences are developed through Luminaria because those who attend are more likely to participate in the arts again at a later date and/or become more familiar with the variety of arts and cultural activities available.”

Individual musicians from the Symphony are performing in art galleries in the early part of March. For a full listing of events visit http://contemporaryartmonth.com/symphony. The Symphony has a Classics series pair of concerts at the Majestic Theatre this Friday and Saturday featuring two piano concertos and Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.

SYMPHONY FOOD DRIVE: MARCH 12, 13, 19 & 20

Last spring, the Symphony partnered with the San Antonio Food Bank Food and Symphony patrons donated over 31,000 lbs of food. This year the Symphony again joins Orchestras Feeding America, the second annual national food drive by America’s symphony orchestras. San Antonio Symphony’s musicians and San Antonio Food Bank staff and volunteers will collect non-perishable food on March 12 & 13 at the Classics series concert at the Majestic Theatre and on March 19 & 20 POPS concert (Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to The Beatles) at the Municipal Auditorium. The food will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank. Those who bring food to these two concerts will receive a free voucher for two tickets to an up-coming Symphony concert. The first 50 people to bring food will also receive a free movie pass to Santikos Theatres: